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What did DC think about then-US President being shown in a dark light in Batman: The Dark Knight Returns? Frank Miller says they agreed it was "fair game"
For Batman: The Dark Knight Returns writer-artist Frank Miller, putting Ronald Reagan in the story was "fair game"
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DC's The Dark Knight Returns features a range of familiar Batman characters like The Joker, Two-Face, and Barbara Gordon, but there's another familiar face in the pages of Frank Miller, Klaus Janson, and Lynn Varley's story: Ronald Reagan.
Now, Ronald Reagan was President of the United States at the time that Miller wrote The Dark Knight Returns, so it's only natural that the writer include panels of the President while showing the larger political context beyond Gotham. However, Miller's inclusion of Reagan in The Dark Knight Returns may still raise a few eyebrows, which he addressed at ComicsPRO 2026.
When Miller was asked if DC had any objections to his putting Ronald Reagan into The Dark Knight Returns, he had a succinct answer: "No."
"By any standards, this is fair game. This is fair use, which is the legal term for it. It is satire, it is parody. Just as a newspaper cartoonist can draw the President of the United States, a comic book artist can as well. Perhaps it would have been different if I had drawn actor Ronald Reagan by name and said anything about him that wasn't true. But to do a cartoon imitation of the absurdity of some of his excesses and, of course, his personality... sorry, he ran for that Office," Miller said.
Reagan isn't the only leader to have made an appearance in DC Comics around this time. Dave McKean's cover for Hellblazer #3 features graffiti of Margaret Thatcher with vampire teeth behind John Constantine. As Miller said, it's "fair game."
Batman is the most well-known superhero in the world — surprisingly, given how much he loves hanging out in the dark. But between his comics, TV shows, movies, games, and more, DC's Dark Knight is the hero this city/country/world/universe needs, and we have all you need to enjoy him even more:
About ComicsPRO Industry Conference
Every year, the giants of the North American comic industry congregate behind closed doors for a closed-door conference to talk about the changing landscape of comics, what they've learned, and what they are all planning to do in the future. It's not a comic convention for fans, though - it's in a B2B event called the ComicsPRO Annual Meeting, and this year Popverse is going there to bring it all to you. At the 2026 Comics PRO Annual Meeting, Popverse will be covering the announcements, the conversations, and the insight from the likes of Marvel Comics, DC Comics, VIZ Media, Yen Press, Image Comics, Skybound Entertainment, and more.
Dates
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Location
Glendale, California
United States
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